Update: Stop Searching for Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer, the iconic chess genius has died at the age of 64 at a hospital in Reykjavík, Iceland. The cause of death has not been released, but much speculation is expected as this is Bobby Fischer we are talking about, a man for whom intrigue has always played a part. Fischer reached the height of fame in the summer of 1972 when he took the world championship from the Russian-born grandmaster Boris Spassky, making him the first and only American to win the title (it's pretty much dominated by Russians).

It was not only his victory, but also his style of play that made him a chess icon.

From the New York Times:

“It was Bobby Fischer who had, single-handedly, made the world recognize that chess on its highest level was as competitive as football, as thrilling as a duel to the death, as esthetically satisfying as a fine work of art, as intellectually demanding as any form of human activity,” wrote Harold C. Schonberg, who reported on the Reykjavik match for The New York Times, in his 1973 book, “Grandmasters of Chess.”

After his win, Bobby Fischer went into seclusion that he'd rarely come out of. He emerged briefly in 92 after 2 decades of hiding to "defy an American ban on conducting business in wartorn Yugoslavia to play a $5 million match" against his old nemesis, Spassky. He won and disappeared again, alone. There is speculation and some info as to where he went.

"He lived in Budapest -- and possibly the Philippines and Switzerland -- and emerged now and then on radio stations in Iceland, Hungary and the Philippines to rant in increasingly belligerent terms against the United States and against Jews."

He made many, many seriously antisemitic claims, like his belief in a world-wide Jewish Conspiracy, that 911 was a good thing, because with a police state (which he hoped would be the result of the attacks) comes the outlawing of synagogues and rounding up of "Jew Leaders."

So, maybe we won't rush to call him an American hero. Still, he is tremendously interesting. Was in Japanese jail for 8 months, was invited to the white house to meet Nixon, invented new ways to play chess, he reportedly had an I.Q of 181--And we suggest you read more here.